The coronavirus pandemic has hit Peru, and it has touched onion grower-shippers there, marketers say.

Ralph Diaz says 2020 will go down as one of the strangest years he has seen, where shipping Peruvian onions is concerned.

The warm season is coming on in Peru, and its sweet onion crop is responding, suppliers say.

Sweet onions unseated cucumbers as No. 1 on PMG the week of Aug. 10, climbing from No. 10 the previous week, and bulb onions took No. 2.

Peru plays more than just a supporting role in the U.S. sweet onion market, growers and shippers say.

Onion markets have had suppliers smiling throughout 2019, and the happy mood is bound to continue as the Peruvian deal kicks in this fall, marketers say.

The first Peruvian sweet onions had already reached the U.S. by mid-August, and plenty of supplies are forecast as the deal heats up in September and beyond.

When it comes to providing retail customers with the ability to lock in year-round supplies of sweet onions with a single supplier, Peru plays an important role.

Shuman Produce is introducing onion packaging this holiday season that supports food bank network Feeding America.

Keystone Fruit Marketing, which first started importing its Mayan Sweets branded onions from Peru in the mid-’90s, has a number of promotions planned through the Peruvian season.